When I Was Your Man
by BlackxxCherry
Summary: A oneshot songfic. Sometimes, one does not know what they have until it is ripped away from them.


A oneshot songfic based on Bruno Mar's When I Was Your Man.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

_"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun wait up!_

_..._

_Sasuke-kun! I made these just for you!_  
_Don't you know what day it is? It's Valentine's Day!_

_..._

_Sasuke-kun, I booked a reservation at that new restaurant that just opened! Lets go together!_

_..._

_Sasuke-kun, I love you!_

_..._

_...Sasuke._

Face in his hands, memory after memory passed through his head. Every moment spent with her. Every precious moment he didn't cherish. Then something poked his side, and he looked up. Or more like, looked down, at a little girl whose head was tilted in slight confusion.

"Why are you on the swing mister? You're an adult!"  
Smirking a little, he replied, "Is there an age limit for people to ride the swings?"  
"Well I guess not...but adults don't usually ride the swings! So why are you on them?"  
"I'm here because someone really important to me really liked swings. She used to come here all the time, and drag me with her."

The little girl's curiousness grew further at his responses. Sitting down on the swing next to him, she asked, "If she's the one who dragged you here, where is she now?"  
With a rueful smile, he responded, "Well, she's not here, I can tell you that. She's probably somewhere else with the person she now loves."  
"Now love? Who did she love before? And why did she change who she loves?"  
"Well, she loved me before. She loved me very much. But she stopped loving me because I am a stupid man. A stupid, stupid man."

_Looking around, there were a lot of other couples out. She saw all of them holding hands, looking into each others eyes lovingly. She blushed, thinking about how it'd be like to do the same with her boyfriend. Attempting to be discrete, she inched her hand closer and closer to his. But when she finally tried to reach for his hand, he brushed it off and walked ahead of her. If he had looked back he would have seen the look of hurt that flashed across her face..._

"Helloooo? Why were zoning off?"  
"Well I was remembering the times I was such a stupid man."  
"You know, I don't think you're stupid mister. A stupid person doesn't feel so sad. That's a sad person."  
He chuckled, "Well then, I guess you could say I am both a stupid and sad man."

_Sasuke-kun, don't you think those flowers are beautiful? I just love flowers. You know, we should view the Sakura blossoms together next year!_

_..._

_Omg did you see that proposal? He gave her such a beautiful bouquet! You know, when I get proposed to, I want a bouquet like that._

_Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun are you listening?_

"Do you like flowers?"  
"Of course! What girl doesn't? Doesn't the girl you know like flowers?"  
"Yeah, she loved them. She always told me she wanted to see the Sakura blossoms together."  
"Did you?"  
"...no."

_Sasuke-kun, do you know how to dance? No?  
Come on, it'll be fun! I'll even teach you if you want!  
Here, twirl me right here! Wait, wait Sasuke-kun you're gonna...!  
Sasuke-kun, you're so bad at this!  
Me? Well I love dancing!_

"Hey, do you really, _really_, love this girl?"  
"Yes, I really, really love her."  
"Then why didn't you tell her that?"  
"...because I realized it too late."

_Sasuke-kun...Sasuke-kun, I can't do this anymore...I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, but I can't, it's just too much, I just can't take it anymore. It's crushing what's left of my already broken heart...goodbye...Sasuke._

"...Hey, mister? Why...why are you crying?"

_I'm...crying?_

He slowly raised his hand to his cheek, feeling the wetness of his skin. All of a sudden, it was like something inside him snapped. His chest got tight and his heart ached; it felt like it wasn't whole, like it was aching for that missing piece. Holding a hand to his chest, he sat dazed, faintly revelling in the amount of physical pain he was feeling from his overload of emotions.

_It hurts so much. It only gets worse as I keep thinking about her. Is this how she always felt? How could I have let her feel like this?_

He felt a warm hand rubbing awkward circles on his back.  
"Don't cry, mister. Adults aren't supposed to cry. That's what my jiji said."

_How pathetic can I get? I'm crying in front of a little girl, and she's trying to console me_.  
Yet despite what he thought, the tears wouldn't stop. Years of pent of emotions resulted in an emotional breakdown. Years of avoiding her, avoiding _them_. His tears were years overdue.

_He had been walking towards the school's roof when he heard voices. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he turned to retrace his steps, when he heard a familiar female voice.  
"It's just...so painful, I can barely hold myself together. I can feel my heart breaking more and more with each passing day...I can barely hold a smile for him. But I don't want him to see it as a burden! He'll probably be even more annoyed at me then he already is!"_

_A second voice spoke up, but it was slightly farther away and hard to identity._

_"If its hurting you this badly, then just leave him! I'm sick of only being able to help you from the sidelines! I'm sick of watching you wither away because of him!"  
"But I can't. You know I can't."  
"Why? Because he's some kind of helpless boy deep down? That you must help him, no matter the cost? If he's gonna hurt you this badly, then he's not worth your love! The bastard doesn't deserve a single inch of your kindness."_

_There was a pause and he tried to get closer to hear better, and maybe find who the other person was._

_"...Why not me? Why can't you choose me for once?"  
"...I-I..."  
"...Just give me a chance, please. I've been by your side for years. I know everything about you, your fears, dreams and weaknesses, and you know mine. No one knows you better than me, and vise-versa. So please..."_

_There was more silence, and he took the chance to try to peek through the gap of the roof door. When he caught a glimpse, his eyes widened at the sight._

_"Just...just give me some time, Naruto. I-I'll think about it..."_

_Naruto gently lifted her chin and stared into her brilliant jade eyes, longing held in them. "I love you, I really do. Please, choose me."_

He had never suspected that his best friend and girlfriend had been so close. Well, maybe it was obvious and he just never noticed. The three were childhood friends, afterall. But he had always been selfish and self-obsessed. Hatred for his brother and loneliness from the loss of his family weighed on his mind more than anything else in his life. He remembered only agreeing to go out with her just so he could make Naruto jealous. They were best friends and rivals. But he never did it out of love or affection. But over the three years he had gone out with her, he had gotten used to her presence, overly so. And he never noticed until she broke it off. He began to realize all these small things, how everything was different without her there. He woke up in cold sweat from nightmares, and there were no soft words and soothing touches to lull him back to sleep. There were no warm aromas of breakfast surrounding his apartment every morning. When he came back from his part-time job, there was no one to greet him at the door. His apartment felt cold, empty and bleak without her and her colourful items. Everything was back to white, black, and dark blues, just like it was before she moved into his life. And there was so much silence. No one was there to fill it with pointless chatter. There was absolutely no one. Other than her and Naruto, he had no friends. Admirers, fan girls, haters, yes. But no friends. Pathetic, really. But for him those two were always enough. He didn't need any more friends, but now that they were gone, he was utterly alone. Even those two had their fair share of friends. The crazy girl named Ino, the quiet one named Hinata, the tomboy Tenten, loud Kiba, lazy Shikamaru, fat Chouji, the eccentric guy named Lee, serious Neji, creepy Gaara. The list could go on and on. But for him? It was her, Naruto, and possibly this little girl he just met. He would have laughed if he wasn't busy crying.

" Mister, you know what? I think you're a really nice guy. And even if you made a mistake doesn't mean you're a stupid person. I think that girl is really lucky she has someone who cares about her so much that he'd cry for her, even if she doesn't know it. And if she's happy now, you wouldn't ruin it, right?

"Yeah...she's happy...and I would never ruin her happiness, even if its not with me. I had my chance, and though I ruined it, I'm grateful for everything she's done for me."  
"It's time for me to move on, isn't it?"

The little girl smiled bright at this. Standing up, he got ready to leave. "Thanks."  
"Oh, by the way mister, what's the name of the girl?"  
"...Sakura. Like the flowers she loves."  
"Wow, really? That's my kaa-san's name!"

Suddenly something struck Sasuke as odd and he took a step back and really _looked_, and what he finally saw made his eyes grow wide. A small girl, around the age of five. Long blonde hair with pale skin tinted with peach. Then he looked at her face and saw brilliant jade-green eyes.

_It cant be... but there's no doubt about it. She's..._

"Liily-chan! Liily-chan, wear are you?"

Liily turned around and ran to her mother, "Kaa-san!"

"Liily-chan, don't run off like that! Your tou-san was worried!"  
"Gomen, kaa-san. But I met an interesting man! He told me the girl he loves has the same name as you!"

Sakura looked up to see Sasuke standing across from her, stock-still and eyes widened in shock. Reaching a hand to her mouth, she whispered, "Sasuke..."

From behind, a young man caught up with them. "Sakura-chan! You found Liily-chan! Wait, what are you sta–" Stopping short, he caught sight of Sasuke.

"S-Sakura, Naruto?"

It had been seven years. Seven years since he last saw them. Seven years since they've seen him. He had immediately left Japan as soon as they graduated from high school to go to a famous music school overseas. He didn't want to stay in Japan any longer than necessary, not when those two were together.  
Arms hooked around his torso, and it felt like he was being crushed.

_I always forget how strong she really is..._

"Sakura...I-I can't...breathe."  
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Quickly letting go, she stepped back and blushed in embarrassment, "Its just that its been so _long_."

"Hey, teme. How've you been doing?" Naruto asked awkwardly, rubbing his head sheepily.

"...okay."

Sasuke took in the sight of the small family. Naruto had grown taller than him, and clear signs of muscle showed under his shirt. His hair was longer, and he looked almost exactly like his late father, except for the whisker birth marks he still had.  
Sakura was a little taller too, but was still small enough to be considered petite. Her limbs were more thin and graceful in movement. She lost her babyish face and had grown to be a beautiful woman. Her pink hair was long once again, and she looked heavenly with her long, wavy locks cascading down her back.

The most important thing Sasuke saw in this picture was the obvious glow of happiness radiating off the family. The very thing he had wanted for himself.

_It really is time to move on. There's no room for me here. Never have, and never will._

"Kaa-san! This is the man I just told you about! His name is...wait, what is your name mister?" Liily looked up to him expectantly.

"Sa–" he began, then was cut off,  
"Sasuke. His name is Uchiha Sasuke, Liily-chan." Sakura answered.

Ume looked curiously at her mother, "You know him, kaa-san?"  
Small hints of tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. "Yes. He's someone very important to me."

Sasuke was internally surprised at her words.  
_I'm still important to her? After all I did?_

Suddenly his cell rang. Growling in annoyance, he picked it up. "Yeah? I know, I know. I was just walking around. No, I'll be there in five minutes."

Looking at the family, he said, "Sorry, but I need to go. My flight leaves in fifteen minutes."  
"Your flight?" Asked Sakura.  
"Yeah," he grunted, "I'm leaving for Italy today. I'm currently on a world tour with my band, and Italy is our next stop. Japan was our first, hence why I'm here."  
"World tour? Wait, Paladin is on their first world tour...is that your band?" Asked Naruto excitedly. "I love that band! It's really popular right now! Wait a minute, maybe...are you the lead singer?!"  
"Yeah...it's not that big of a deal..."  
Sakura gave a bright smile then. "Sasuke! You accomplished your dream of being a singer! I had no idea!"  
His ears were tinted red in embrassment. "Well we do wear masks. It's no wonder you never knew it was me. How about you?"  
"Sakura-chan is on her way to becoming head doctor at the Konoha Hospital in Tokyo. Rumor says Tsunade-obaa-san is going to retire soon and pass the position on to her!" Naruto replied proudly.  
"Naruto! It's not confirmed yet, so you shouldn't go around boasting to people!" Sakura squeaked, her face being entirely red in embarrassment.  
"It's more or less confirmed, Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke stared at them, laughing and smiling, hugging each other.  
_Letting her go was the right choice. She's so much happier now._

Getting ready to leave, he turned, but was stopped by a small body wrapped around his leg. Picking up Liily into his arms, he said, "Thanks for reuniting me with the girl I loved, Liily. Make sure you take care of your mother, and that your baka father doesn't do something stupid."

Giggling, she replied, "That's impossible! Tou-san is always silly!"  
Chuckling back in return, he put Liily down. "Goodbye."

Waving, she shouted, "I hope you find a new love!"  
Smirking, he walked to Naruto and Sakura. Hugging Sakura, he whispered, "I love you Sakura. I hope you will always be happy." Hugging him back, she cried, "I am happy, Sasuke."  
Nodding his head, he walked by Naruto and laid his hand on his shoulder.  
"Take care of her dobe. If you ever make her cry like I did, I'll whoop your ass."  
"As if, teme."

Sasuke smirked and walked to his car.

_Be happy, Sakura. Maybe I'll find happiness one day as well._

* * *

While this is a songfic based on Bruno Mar's song, the scene was inspired by a preview I watched on a Dr. Who season premier. When he is on the swings and has a conversation with a little girl about the woman he loves. Just wanted to address the proper credits.


End file.
